The Gospel is Still Good News!</p><p>The word "gospel" was in use in ancient Greek and Rome long before it became popularly associated with Jesus Christ. The word gospel finds its root in the Greek word "eu-aggelos" (pronounced more like angelos) meaning "good-message" or "good-news." The Greek word looks and sounds a bit like "angels" because angels in Greek means messengers and comes from that same root word.</p><p>Gospel announcements of victory were shouted out at the gates of the city by Greek and later Roman messengers after their victories in battle! Messengers would race to have the privilege of declaring the "good message" to the citizens! The citizens in turn would celebrate and bring "gospels" or victory-gifts as offerings to the various gods at their various temples.</p><p>Similar gospel announcements and celebrations were also made when a new Caesar, king or ruler was born. The good-message then was that a new era of peace was at hand and the future looked bright!</p><p>Jesus himself is the first person to begin proclaiming the gospel as we think of it today. The first time he used it, that we know of, is in Mark's Gospel. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good-message!" (Mark 1:15)</p><p>He didn't need to explain or define the word perhaps because, as aforementioned, people already had a clear idea what the concept meant! Victory, new life and peace!</p><p>Lately, I've been studying and teaching the New Testament book of Romans, so-called, because it was a letter written to the followers of Jesus who lived in Rome. Paul had been delayed in his plans to visit Rome probably because of his being arrested in Jerusalem for preaching the Gospel. He wrote the book while he was waiting.</p><p>Paul makes it clear that his letter to the Romans is about the Gospel. He begins the book, "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God" (Romans 1:1). For Paul, it seems that, proclaiming "the gospel of God" is his entire purpose for living.</p><p>A few paragraphs later he describes why it is so important and how he views it. He pens, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).</p><p>In another of his letters he gives a full description of the Gospel as he writes, "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve" (1 Corinthians 15:1&#x96;5).</p><p>As in Paul's day, so now! The Gospel is the good-message, the good-news, the "power of God unto salvation to all who believe." I do. I hope you do, too.</p><p>John Parker meets with his ChristChurch friends on Sundays, at 10 a.m. at 260 North Sixth St. in Chowchilla and welcomes you there, too.